Monday, 25 February 2013

A 40K campaign, but without the campaign?

Here's an idea I had while musing on psychology in Warhammer. If you want some of the feel of a 40K campaign, but don't have the time, ideas or consensus it can take to set one up, ponder this.

At the end of each game, note the degree of damage done to each unit which took part.

If the unit was reduced to half strength or destroyed, casualties will be replaced with reserves or trainees: the unit is classed as rookie in the next game in which it is taken.

Any unit not reduced to half strength or destroyed is classed as hardened in later games, until it would be classed as rookie, at which point it reverts to its normal status.

Rookie units roll one extra die for each leadership test, discarding the single best result; hardened units roll one extra, discarding the single worst.* Where the unit is a vehicle, a rookie crew fires one weapon less than usual, while a hardened crew can fire one more.

The variety of sixth edition means the wider strategic aspects can be assumed in the particular combination of factors in any given game. This just adds a little consequence.

It could go on until a climactic battle is arranged, agreed maybe 1D6 games in advance.

* Optional rules: Naïveté - if a rookie unit rolls a double or triple on the dice for any leadership test, the next casualty suffered fights on with a single wound; Shell shock - if a hardened unit rolls a double or triple on the dice for any leadership test, one model - chosen by an opposing player - is unwell and immediately lost.

@ Zab - That's a more inventive use of magnetisation than we generally see, and very interesting too. What changed from base to base? I'm guessing trophies, used magazines and the like. It's ideal for a more visual game type like 28mm wargaming and a good potential marker for rules effects too.

I also like the idea of having different bases for different opposing forces and for different terrains - urban, verdant, ice, red planet etc. - for the range of tables usually played on, but switchable bases for whatever reason is evidence of dedication in a modern 40K army, given how big they get. Having said that, with the range of sculpted bases on the market now, there is a bit less work involved than there otherwise might be, and it's definitely more practical with the model counts of Necromunda or Killzone, or better yet the ultra-low counts of INQ28 and player characters in tactical roleplaying.

Which gives me an unusual idea - for a game needing as few miniatures as Inquisitor does, or for player characters, why not magnetise for wounds or dirt? Just two each of a head, arms and torso could show wear and tear, and stumps would also be possible for the worst injuries, and there could be some tailoring to different weapon types too, from bladed to heat and beyond. Macabre maybe, but not much more than recording harm already is, or playing this kind of game at all really. Given the progression of parts in Monster, it may even be a natural next step.

@ Col. Ackland - I often wonder how much coincidence is a question of subtle cues spread through an area of culture at a particular moment, leading similar people in the same direction, and whether because of it, or a process like it, the time can seem to be right for a given idea. In this case, it's probably also an effect of just how long we've both been playing and how old the game is now. I'll be over in a just a bit to take a look.

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